Unemployment and ED Utilization

Principal Investigator: Jahan Fahimi, MD, MPH

Macrosocial shocks such as economic decline and job loss have tremendous impacts on both communities and health. As individuals lose their jobs, then their insurance, and subsequently their access to primary care and prescription coverage, the way in which they access the healthcare system changes, both in terms of access and the nature of their diseases. Whether increased substance abuse, psychological stress, trauma, exacerbated chronic disease, or need for primary care, the ED is often at the center of the community's needs. To study this phenomenon, we aim to perform a time-series analysis to understand how unemployment in California changes ED utilization patterns.